Case Study: Santa Maria Area Transit Streamlines Workforce Communication with Team Engine

Santa Maria Area Transit keeps every employee informed with critical updates no matter where they are through real-time text messaging

Santa Maria Area Transit (SMAT) needed a better way to keep drivers informed before and during COVID-19. General Manager Ken Smithson was forced to repeat the same updates to different groups, and the team had no easy way to handle individual questions, payroll issues, or urgent announcements for employees who were out on the road all day. SMAT turned to Team Engine and its employee messaging platform to solve the communication gap.

With Team Engine, SMAT sent daily updates directly to employees’ phones via text, eliminating staff meetings, flyers, and phone tag. The platform let Ken share announcements instantly, reply privately to individual employees, and keep a complete log of conversations for compliance and liability. The result was faster, more consistent communication across the workforce, better visibility into who received information, and improved responsiveness to staff concerns.

Santa Maria Area Transit

Ken Smithson

General Manager